You Should Buy Apple Stock

You might think that with its stock north of $500 a share, after rising 30% in six months, that Apple has peaked financially. But you'd be wrong, writes Farhad Manjoo of Slate. Apple's price-earnings ratio is still a humble 14—cheaper even than Google, Amazon, and even beleaguered Yahoo. And "not only is Apple not peaking, it is likely not even close to reaching its potential earnings," which are almost too vast for investors to comprehend. "The numbers are just too big."

Apple earns 75% of all smartphone profits, and the smartphone market has lots of room to grow; right now, smartphones account for only three of every 10 phones. Its tablet dominance is even greater, and sales have doubled every year. Sure, some of the magic may be gone without Steve Jobs. "But Apple's future isn't in magic. It's in math," Manjoo argues. "Instead of buying the next iPad, buy one share of AAPL. Unlike the tablet, it will only get better with time." (More Apple stories.)